COLUMBIA | Twenty minutes after making school history, Park Hill South junior Chase Gray stood near the floor of Mizzou Arena, still sporting a puffy right eye and small red gash on his forehead as the second day of the Missouri state wrestling championships played out in front of him. </p><p>In some ways, the battle scars seemed a little out of place. Gray (182 pounds) had just defeated McCluern senior Gordon Phillips in a Class 4 semifinal match on Friday night, becoming the first wrestler in Park Hill South history to advance to the state wrestling finals. And he did it without surrendering a point, topping Phillips 1-0 in a barnburner. </p><p>&#x93;A lot of things came together,&#x94; said Gray, who improved to 47-5. &#x93;I just laid low and waited.&#x94; </p><p>It was quite a turnaround for Gray, who didn&#x92;t place last year after qualifying for state as a sophomore. But on Friday morning, Gray said he woke up knowing he could change two things: He could gain some personal redemption and help put Park Hill South wrestling on the map. </p><p>&#x93;He doesn&#x92;t make many mistakes.&#x94; Park Hill South coach Dan Dunkin said. &#x93;So he wins a lot of one-, two-point matches. That&#x92;s pretty typical for Chase Gray.&#x94;</p><p>Defending champs hold court </p><p>If winning four state championships is the pinnacle of high school wrestling, then taking home two titles is somewhere in the middle &#x97; a rare feat that still deserves to be celebrated. </p><p>So start with Oak Park sophomore Noah Teaney, who will be going for a second straight title at 106 after knocking off Staley&#x92;s Ethan Koan in the semis. </p><p>&#x93;It means all the hard work is paying off,&#x94; Teaney said. </p><p>Of course, Teaney isn&#x92;t the only Kansas City-area wrestler who will try to double up on titles today. In Class 3, Oak Park junior Brad Perkins (120) and Kearney junior Jaret Singh (113) will both be gunning for another top medal. In Class 4, Blue Springs teammates Darick Lapaglia (138), Daniel Lewis (126) and Greg Hegarty (145) gave the school three potential repeat champions. Hegarty knocked off Park Hill senior Connor Shene in the semifinals. </p><p>Finally, Lee&#x92;s Summit West senior Evan Boehm (285) set himself up for a memorable Saturday inside Mizzou Arena. Boehm, who&#x92;ll play offensive line at Missouri, can win his second straight title and fourth straight medal just across the street from his future home at Memorial Stadium. </p><p>Team title races </p><p>After two days, the battle for the Class 3 and Class 4 team titles is playing to script. Blue Springs, the defending Class 4 champs and consensus favorites, leads second-place Park Hill heading into the final day of competition. Leaning on its collection of returning individual champs, Blue Springs (121.5), staked a 9.5-point advantage over Park Hill (112). </p><p>Meanwhile, Kearney&#x92;s top contenders &#x97; Singh, Kevin Kinney (132), Grant Leeth (138), Tanner Minder (145), Blain Drescher (160) and Morgan Fitzgerald (170) &#x97; came out on fire, advancing to the finals and helping the Bulldogs take a 146 to 135.5 lead over second-place Staley in the Class 3 team standings. </p><p>Staley, led by undefeated junior Trent Hosick (285), placed four wrestlers in the finals. </p><p>&#x93;I hope it&#x92;s close,&#x94; Staley coach Gary Mayabb said. &#x93;Otherwise that means it&#x92;s all Kearney. If they come out (Saturday) and wrestle out front, then it&#x92;s gonna be out of our hands. But it&#x92;s in their hands. They did a great job.&#x94; </p><p>Etc. </p><p>**Oak Grove is in position for a top-three finish in Class 2. The Panthers, who enter today with 91 points, are second in the standings but trail first-place Kirksville by 36.5 points. </p><p>**Liberty freshman Keyen Braughton (220) upset Blue Springs junior Austin Reyes in the Class 4 semis. </p><p>**Harrisonville senior Travis Britz stayed unbeaten at 45-0 and advanced to the Class 2 finals at 285.